Yes, alas. Yes to all of them. These are the dangerous aquatic invasive species that are slowly taking over Lake George, while state environmental officials drag their feet rather than urgently insisting on mandatory inspections and cleaning of boats.

Still, we haven't seen the worst yet. A more damaging ecological crisis looms, in the form of quagga mussels, hydrilla and water chestnuts.

So what's the state's answer? A state-sanctioned boat inspection and washing effort — maybe. Perhaps in 2014, at the earliest.

That's not enough, and not soon enough.

"Without decisive measures now, we will lose the lake as we know it, forever," says Eric Siy of the Fund for Lake George.

They've joined to do what the state still can't make a commitment to do — keeping boats already contaminated with invasive species on their exteriors or in their bilge water from entering the lake. Their objective is to inspect and wash all boats and trailers that may have been exposed to invasives in such waterways as Lake Champlain, the Great Lakes and Cayuga Lake, where dozens of invasives live.

This coalition will push high-pressure washing of boats in a voluntary effort, one that's admirable while incomplete. They're ready to buy as many boat wash stations as they can, at about $50,000 each. It's a bargain, given the cost of letting the invasives spread beyond control, which would be measured in lost tourism revenue, declining property value and the greater expense of treating an infested lake.

It's almost impossible to overstate the priceless natural wonder of Lake George. It provides recreational opportunities for about 17,000 boats and a million visitors a year. More critically, the lake is the source of drinking water for tens of thousands of people. That essential function will be in danger quite soon: Quagga mussels clog up water delivery systems and foul water quality.

And still the state balks at mandatory boat inspections and cleaning, when many of the species that need to be kept out of the water often can't be detected by the naked eye.

But what about the precedent of not adequately confronting the damage to this particular lake, or not confronting it in time?

State officials should aim for nothing less than the success of boat washing in Lake Tahoe, on the border between California and Nevada. An infestation of Asian clams there was precipitating algae growth and costing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to treat. Since the washing program was put in place, no additional invasives have gotten into Lake Tahoe.

New York could duplicate that effort. That would require state officials to follow the lead of some creative and committed municipal leaders and conservationists. It's that, or watch Lake George fall prey to an ecological menace that will diminish it and everyone who knew better.